Rahab and the Spies Joshua 2

Rahab and the Spies
Joshua 2

Now after Moses died, God told Joshua to lead the people of Israel into the promised land. And God told Joshua "Be strong and of good courage; do not be afraid, the LORD your God is with you wherever you go."

And so Joshua sent two men to secretly spy out the land, and he told them "Go see the land, and the city of Jericho." And so they went, and came to a woman's house whose name was Rahab, and they stayed with her.

And the king of Jericho was told that there were two men who were of the children of Israel, that had come to search out the country.

And so the king of Jericho sent word to Rahab, telling her to bring out the men who were staying with her, because they were spies. But Rahab took the two men, and hid them, and said to the king's men "some men came to me, but I didn't know who they were, and when the time came to shut the gates of the city, the men went out, where they went I don't know, but if you go after them quickly, you will catch up to them." But Rahab had taken the spies up to the roof of her house, and hidden them in the stalks of flax which were laying on the roof drying.

And so the men that the king had sent believed Rahab and they went into the fields looking for the spies. And so Rahab went to the spies and said to them "I know that the LORD has given you the land, and that everyone is afraid of you because we have all heard how the LORD dried up the Red Sea when you left Egypt, and now everyone is very afraid because the LORD your God, he is God in heaven and in earth. And so now make a vow to me by the LORD, that because I have been kind to you, that you will be kind to my father's house and give me a sign that you will save alive my father, my mother, my brothers and sisters and all that they have."

And the spies said to her "If you do not say anything about us, when the LORD has given us the land, we will do as you desire." Then Rahab put a cord (that is like a rope) through the window because her house was upon the wall of the town.

And she said to them "Go to the mountain and hide yourselves there for three days until the men who are chasing you return, and afterward you may go your way.

And the spies told Rahab to tie the cord, which was scarlet red, in the window which they had come out of, and to bring all her family and all her family's household into her house. If they stayed in the house they would be protected. And they said that Rahab was to remain silent.

And so Rahab agreed to remain silent and to do as they said, and she tied the scarlet cord in the window....and our next story will be about the fall of the city of Jericho. And the scarlet cord is a picture of the precious blood of the Lord Jesus who died for us.

Memory Verse: Joshua 1:9 "...Be strong and of good courage; be not afraid, neither be dismayed: for the LORD your God is with you wherever you go."

Questions:
1. Why did Joshua sent the spies into the land?
2. What did the king tell Rahab to do? and what did she do?
3. Why did Rahab hide the spies?
4. What did Rahab want the spies to do for her?
5. What did the spies tell Rahab to do?

Answers:
1. Joshua told them to spy out the land and the city of Jericho.
2. The king told Rahab to bring out the spies. Rahab said that they had already left.
3. Because she had heard all that the LORD had done for the children of Israel and she believed that God was God of heaven and of earth.
4. She wanted protection for her family when the city of Jericho was taken.
5. They told her to bring all her family into her house and bind the scarlet cord in the window. As long as her family stayed in her house they would be protected by the scarlet cord.

Vicki C. Gross

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